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I am a big fan of the article The Last Gasp by Douglas Cole which expands the rules for fatigue and adds the concept of Action Points to provide action with a sort of ebb & flow. Theoretically, I really like the concept of Action Points, however, in reality, I found them to be a bit too “fiddly”. The one game that I used them in found the players managing them in what felt was an unrealistic way. They were trying to avoid an enormous cave lion that was running towards them, and they were counting hexes so they wouldn’t have to run fast enough to risk losing a Fatigue point, rather than risk their characters being out of breath when they reached safety. Now I realize that isn’t a particularly strenuous test case, but it left me somewhat dissatisfied with Action Points.

So came up with what seems like a workable and easy to use (if somewhat gamey) alternative. Whenever you roll triples in combat or a stressful non-combat situation, there is a chance you will accumulate a Fatigue Point.

Physical (includes psionics) rolls:

3 = No Fatigue lost, on a successful HT (modified for Fatigue) roll you regain a FP.

6, 9, 12, 15 = If roll succeeded then make a HT roll (modified for Fatigue), on a successful HT roll no FP are lost. On a failed HT roll you must spend 1d rounds taking either Do Nothing, Evaluate or Wait actions; or you lose 1 FP.
If the original roll was a failure you must spend 1d rounds taking either Do Nothing, Evaluate or Wait actions; or you lose a FP.

18 = You automatically lose 1 FP and make a HT roll (modified for Fatigue), on a successful HT roll no extra FP are lost. On a failed HT roll you must spend 1d rounds taking either Do Nothing, Evaluate or Wait actions; or you lose a extra FP.

Non-Physical rolls:

3 = No Fatigue lost, on a successful HT (modified for Fatigue) roll you regain a FP.

6, 9, 12, 15 = If roll succeeded then there is no effect. If the original roll was a failure you must spend 1d rounds taking either Do Nothing, Evaluate or Wait actions if in combat rounds, or 1d minutes resting if not in combat rounds; or you lose 1 FP.

18 = You automatically lose 1 FP and make a HT roll (modified for Fatigue), on a successful HT roll no extra FP are lost. On a failed HT roll you must spend 1d rounds taking either Do Nothing, Evaluate or Wait actions if in combat rounds, or 1d minutes resting if not in combat rounds; or you lose a extra FP.

I wanted to take a few moments to try and explain why I enjoy lower-point campaigns. Perhaps that is the wrong way to start. What I actually enjoy are campaigns where real-world style threats are actually threatening, like a pistol, or even a knife. I like stat “normalization” with a cap of around 13 to 14, because characters with more realistic-feeling attributes seem easier for players to get into, more so in modern day era settings. I want the players to feel like they can’t take any encounter for granted, and they have to use smart tactics and planning to get the upper hand on the bad guys. Now, to some extent I have to create bad guys that are somewhat on par with the PC’s (my dimension hopping campaign has an average point value of 120 with 30 points in disads (not counting lower than average attributes) and 5 Quirks). But on par doesn’t necessarily mean that all the NPC’s are equal to the PC’s, there are plenty of powerful bad guys, but the players know this (usually) and plan accordingly. Either ambushing the baddies, or negotiating if possible, finding an ally, or just coming up with a clever plan. Having characters that are grounded in what feel like realistic skill levels and attributes gives them a real sense of accomplishment when they do get the better of a serious bad guy.

Many great TV shows feature pretty normal folks dealing with a variety of RPG style adventures. Examples include Lost, Deadwood, Sons of Anarchy or Rome. All of those rely on [clever scriptwriters] the characters working hard to overcome various obstacles. None involve the protagonists wading into a firefight with a pistol skill of 25+ and a massive Dodge from their DX & HT of 18 and taking aimed shots at the eyes. The characters in these shows never seem optimized, or “efficient”, and they seem more believable and sympathetic as a result.

The K’t’so are a group of six different species that were all created by the same god. The name is a human-pronouncable version of “” which is difficult for human mouths to reproduce. The six different species are Bottlenose Dolphins, River Dolphin, Narwhals, Beluga Whales, Orcas, and Sperm Whales. These are the only marine mammals on Domibia (except for unintelligent seals and otters) and they all are of human level intellect.

The K’t’so spend their lives much as their Earth counterparts do, swimming, eating, mating and avoiding predators. but they also have a fairly rich history of oral literature. The stories are rather odd to human(oid) ears and seem rather alien. The smaller K’t’so (the two dolphin species) interact regularly with humans and will form alliances with some maritime cultures. These alliances usually consist of food sharing arrangements, “we help you catch a bunch of fish in your nets and you dump a bunch overboard afterwards for us to eat without chasing”. They tend to have good relations with the Klombasi and often will provide them with information they have collected from fishermen and sailors.

Unlike on Earth, nobody eats the K’t’so or uses their oil for lamps (at least no more than humans are eaten).

Each of the six species have their own spawning grounds in different parts of the world, and while they range all over, they do return home to give birth and raise the children to a safe age for travel.

The Sperm Whales average about 93,500 lbs and are 56′ long (females are 31,100 lbs and 43′ long). The have a Strength of 118 (females a 79) and a Health of 11. Their Dexterity is a fixed 3 (due to having no hands) they have an intellegence of 11 and they have an Education of 4.

I’m going to keep the ST attributes at 118 and 79, with the males getting SM +6 and the females +5. The Health of 11 seems unneccessary, so I will give them the default HT of 10. They should get the +1 IQ, DX is going to be 10 (with No Fine Manipulators) and finally they will have the usual Illiterate & Social Stigma: Uneducated to represent a cultural lack of formal schooling.

There are quite a few Advantages and I tried to make them real-world based, so they aren’t “optimized” and occasionally have non-canonical values.

The Sperm Whales are fairly reclusive and don’t socialize too much with the smaller subspecies.

Italicized disadvantages are cultural or just common rather than racial, so they may not be universal.

What do I do with them?

The K’t’so aren’t a major force in the world, they just kind of go about their lives. But occasionally they can be helpful if you can find something that they want (magic most likely). They can assist survivors from wrecked ships, help locate wrecked ships and possibly assist in recovering loot from the wreckage and act as scouts for humans that they are friendly with.
The Sperm Whales travel all around but try and keep to themselves. They are sometimes sought out by other K’t’so as they have a reputation for wisdom.

The K’t’so are a group of six different species that were all created by the same god. The name is a human-pronouncable version of “” which is difficult for human mouths to reproduce. The six different species are Bottlenose Dolphins, River Dolphin, Narwhals, Beluga Whales, Orcas, and Sperm Whales. These are the only marine mammals on Domibia (except for unintelligent seals and otters) and they all are of human level intellect.

The K’t’so spend their lives much as their Earth counterparts do, swimming, eating, mating and avoiding predators. but they also have a fairly rich history of oral literature. The stories are rather odd to human(oid) ears and seem rather alien. The smaller K’t’so (the two dolphin species) interact regularly with humans and will form alliances with some maritime cultures. These alliances usually consist of food sharing arrangements, “we help you catch a bunch of fish in your nets and you dump a bunch overboard afterwards for us to eat without chasing”. They tend to have good relations with the Klombasi and often will provide them with information they have collected from fishermen and sailors.

Unlike on Earth, nobody eats the K’t’so or uses their oil for lamps (at least no more than humans are eaten).

Each of the six species have their own spawning grounds in different parts of the world, and while they range all over, they do return home to give birth and raise the children to a safe age for travel.

The Orca average about 14,450 lbs and are 25′ long (females are 7500 lbs and 21′ long). The have a Strength of 58 (females a 45) and a Health of 11. Their Dexterity is a fixed 3 (due to having no hands) and they have an Education of 4.

I’m going to keep the ST attributes at 58 and 45, with the males getting SM +4 and the females +3. The Health of 11 seems unneccessary, so I will give them the default HT of 10. DX is going to be 10 (with No Fine Manipulators) and finally they will have the usual Illiterate & Social Stigma: Uneducated to represent a cultural lack of formal schooling.

There are quite a few Advantages and I tried to make them real-world based, so they aren’t “optimized” and occasionally have non-canonical values.

The Orca are more aggressive than the other subspecies and they are usually the ones called on if fighting is needed. Most humans think carefully before harming any K’t’so for fear of the wrath of a pod of Orcas.

Italicized disadvantages are cultural or just common rather than racial, so they may not be universal.

What do I do with them?

The K’t’so aren’t a major force in the world, they just kind of go about their lives. But occasionally they can be helpful if you can find something that they want (magic most likely). They can assist survivors from wrecked ships, help locate wrecked ships and possibly assist in recovering loot from the wreckage and act as scouts for humans that they are friendly with.
The Orcas travel all around and are very gregarious. As I stated previously they are used as sort of the enforcement arm of the K’t’so culture.

The K’t’so are a group of six different species that were all created by the same god. The name is a human-pronouncable version of “” which is difficult for human mouths to reproduce. The six different species are Bottlenose Dolphins, River Dolphin, Narwhals, Beluga Whales, Orcas, and Sperm Whales. These are the only marine mammals on Domibia (except for unintelligent seals and otters) and they all are of human level intellect.

The K’t’so spend their lives much as their Earth counterparts do, swimming, eating, mating and avoiding predators. but they also have a fairly rich history of oral literature. The stories are rather odd to human(oid) ears and seem rather alien. The smaller K’t’so (the two dolphin species) interact regularly with humans and will form alliances with some maritime cultures. These alliances usually consist of food sharing arrangements, “we help you catch a bunch of fish in your nets and you dump a bunch overboard afterwards for us to eat without chasing”. They tend to have good relations with the Klombasi and often will provide them with information they have collected from fishermen and sailors.

Unlike on Earth, nobody eats the K’t’so or uses their oil for lamps (at least no more than humans are eaten).

Each of the six species have their own spawning grounds in different parts of the world, and while they range all over, they do return home to give birth and raise the children to a safe age for travel.

The Beluga average about 3300 lbs and are 13′5″ long (females are 2975 lbs and 12′ long). The have a Strength of 33 (females a 32) and a Health of 11. Their Dexterity is a fixed 3 (due to having no hands) and they have an Education of 4.

I’m going to keep the ST attributes at 33 and 32, with both getting SM +2. The Health of 11 seems unneccessary, so I will give them the default HT of 10. DX is going to be 10 (with No Fine Manipulators) and finally they will have the usual Illiterate & Social Stigma: Uneducated to represent a cultural lack of formal schooling. They swim slower than the other K’t’so and so have a -2 to Basic Move (offset somewhat by Enhanced Move)

There are quite a few Advantages and I tried to make them real-world based, so they aren’t “optimized” and occasionally have non-canonical values.

The Beluga tend to be more spiritual than the other K’t’so and are more often either Blessed or have Divine Favor than the other subspecies.

Italicized disadvantages are cultural or just common rather than racial, so they may not be universal.

What do I do with them?

The K’t’so aren’t a major force in the world, they just kind of go about their lives. But occasionally they can be helpful if you can find something that they want (magic most likely). They can assist survivors from wrecked ships, help locate wrecked ships and possibly assist in recovering loot from the wreckage and act as scouts for humans that they are friendly with.
The Narwhals keep to themselves mostly and stay in the colder northern waters.

The K’t’so are a group of six different species that were all created by the same god. The name is a human-pronouncable version of “” which is difficult for human mouths to reproduce. The six different species are Bottlenose Dolphins, River Dolphin, Narwhals, Beluga Whales, Orcas, and Sperm Whales. These are the only marine mammals on Domibia (except for unintelligent seals and otters) and they all are of human level intellect.

The K’t’so spend their lives much as their Earth counterparts do, swimming, eating, mating and avoiding predators. but they also have a fairly rich history of oral literature. The stories are rather odd to human(oid) ears and seem rather alien. The smaller K’t’so (the two dolphin species) interact regularly with humans and will form alliances with some maritime cultures. These alliances usually consist of food sharing arrangements, “we help you catch a bunch of fish in your nets and you dump a bunch overboard afterwards for us to eat without chasing”. They tend to have good relations with the Klombasi and often will provide them with information they have collected from fishermen and sailors.

Unlike on Earth, nobody eats the K’t’so or uses their oil for lamps (at least no more than humans are eaten).

Each of the six species have their own spawning grounds in different parts of the world, and while they range all over, they do return home to give birth and raise the children to a safe age for travel.

The Narwhals average about 3525 lbs and are 15′5″ long (females are 1985 lbs and 13′1″ long). The have a Strength of 33 (females a 28) and a Health of 11. Their Dexterity is a fixed 3 (due to having no hands) and they have an Education of 4.

I’m going to keep the ST attributes at 33 and 28, with both getting SM +2. The Health of 11 seems unneccessary, so I will give them the default HT of 10. DX is going to be 10 (with No Fine Manipulators) and finally they will have the usual Illiterate & Social Stigma: Uneducated to represent a cultural lack of formal schooling.

There are quite a few Advantages and I tried to make them real-world based, so they aren’t “optimized” and occasionally have non-canonical values. The Narwhals rarely interact with humans and tend to avoid them when possible. They live in colder waters near the northern polar area. The tusk is actually a tooth, so they are somewhat hesitant about trying to lance things with it (also, while all males have a tusk, 15% of females have one as well).

Italicized disadvantages are cultural or just common rather than racial, so they may not be universal.

What do I do with them?

The K’t’so aren’t a major force in the world, they just kind of go about their lives. But occasionally they can be helpful if you can find something that they want (magic most likely). They can assist survivors from wrecked ships, help locate wrecked ships and possibly assist in recovering loot from the wreckage and act as scouts for humans that they are friendly with.
The Narwhals keep to themselves mostly and stay in the colder northern waters.

The K’t’so are a group of six different species that were all created by the same god. The name is a human-pronouncable version of “” which is difficult for human mouths to reproduce. The six different species are Bottlenose Dolphins, River Dolphin, Narwhals, Beluga Whales, Orcas, and Sperm Whales. These are the only marine mammals on Domibia (except for unintelligent seals and otters) and they all are of human level intellect.

The K’t’so spend their lives much as their Earth counterparts do, swimming, eating, mating and avoiding predators. but they also have a fairly rich history of oral literature. The stories are rather odd to human(oid) ears and seem rather alien. The smaller K’t’so (the two dolphin species) interact regularly with humans and will form alliances with some maritime cultures. These alliances usually consist of food sharing arrangements, “we help you catch a bunch of fish in your nets and you dump a bunch overboard afterwards for us to eat without chasing”. They tend to have good relations with the Klombasi and often will provide them with information they have collected from fishermen and sailors.

Unlike on Earth, nobody eats the K’t’so or uses their oil for lamps (at least no more than humans are eaten).

Each of the six species have their own spawning grounds in different parts of the world, and while they range all over, they do return home to give birth and raise the children to a safe age for travel.

The River Dolphins average about 350 lbs and are 7′7″ long (females are 450 lbs and 8′2″ long). The have a Strength of 15 (females a 16) and a Health of 11. Their Dexterity is a fixed 3 (due to having no hands) and they have an Education of 4.

I’m going to keep the ST attributes at 15 and 16, with both getting SM +1. The Health of 11 seems unneccessary, so I will give them the default HT of 10. DX is going to be 10 (with No Fine Manipulators) and finally they will have the usual Illiterate & Social Stigma: Uneducated to represent a cultural lack of formal schooling.

There are quite a few Advantages and I tried to make them real-world based, so they aren’t “optimized”. Unlike the Bottlenose Dolphins the River Dolphins live mostly in a fairly shallow ocean called The Smoking Sea due to its volcanic activity. Because they live in more shallow waters they don’t have the same ability to hold their breath for long dives. They also do a lot of hunting in rivers where visibility is limited. Because of this they have keener sonar sense that the other K’t’so. They also can live comfortably in much hotter waters than the other subspecies.

Italicized disadvantages are cultural or just common rather than racial, so they may not be universal.

What do I do with them?

The K’t’so aren’t a major force in the world, they just kind of go about their lives. But occasionally they can be helpful if you can find something that they want (magic most likely). They can assist survivors from wrecked ships, help locate wrecked ships and possibly assist in recovering loot from the wreckage and act as scouts for humans that they are friendly with.
The River Dolphins have more contact with humans that the other K’t’so because they live in fairly shallow coastal waters. They are likely to be on speaking terms with all the friendly humans who travel through the Smoking Sea.